The Chipper Chums Go Scrumping
The Chipper Chums Go Scrumping is the tenth episode of the first series of Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids. Plot Two best friends, Algy and Col, and Algy's pet dog Stinker are spending six weeks on holiday in Kent, where they form a gang called the Chipper Chums to have adventures and drink ginger beer. Also in the gang are Ginger, his little sister Alice, and Sam. One day, while out singing and cycling, the gang cycle too fast for little Alice and have to slow down, because Alice says that Teddy was scared. Afterwards they cycled all the way across Buttercup Meadow, down the woods to the stream, but by now they were getting tired and hot, so they hop off their bikes and break out their picnic. Algy's Aunt Fanny had packed them sardine sandwiches, ripe tomatoes, home baked scones with lashings of clotted cream, a tin of spam, and a bone for Stinker. All of this food makes them sleepy, so the Chipper Chums fall asleep in the long grass with full bellies. When they wake up the sun has gone away and the wind has picked up, so Sam suggests that they head home, but Algy still wants to have their adventure. Col suggests that they go fishing as he has some string, but they can't as they don't have a hook. Eventually they settle on the idea of going scrumping from Farmer Tregowan's orchard, and even although they know that scrumping is stealing, they don't think that the farmer will notice as he already has so many apples. Once at the orchard, they decide that it is more of an adventure if they climb on each other's shoulders to pick the apples rather than using the farmer's ladder, so Sam, being the biggest and strongest, hoists Col up into the tree. The plan works a treat and the Chums get their apples, but just as they finish them, Farmer Tregowan arrives and catches them. After Farmer Tregowan shoots his shotgun at them, Stinker leaps to defend his friends, but the farmer just shoots the dog. After this the cheeky chums say that they are sorry for stealing, but Farmer Tregowan still wants his apples back. Sam suggests that he give them all a good clip around the ear and forget all about it, but just then the insecticide that the farmer had sprayed on his crop takes effect and the Chipper Chums keel over stone dead. Later that day, Farmer Tregowan pops the Chipper Chums into his cider press and gets his apples back, mixing it in with his cider to make a particularly heady brew. Moral The moral of this story is "Never steal from other people." Trivia * Although never actually mentioned in the episode, the year this story was set in is 1952, as can be seen on the side of the cider barrel containing the pressed Chipper Chums. * The storytelling style and character design in The Chipper Chums Go Scrumping is very reminiscent of the Enid Blyton "Famous Five" books, which were popular from the 1940's to the 1960's. Category:Episodes Category:Series 1